Money pies, condoms and cherry-pickers: The mad marketing of Manchester startup Caroo
Caroo isn’t your run-of-the-mill jobs platform. In fact, to call the brand ‘different’ would be to do them a disservice. This company is changing everything.
‘Businesses do some pretty weird stuff to market themselves. But we’ll bet you a tenner they’re not as weird as the stuff we do.‘
You don’t get many companies publishing a statement like this on their website. Particularly in the hiring sector.
But Caroo isn’t your run-of-the-mill recruitment company. In fact, to call them ‘different’ would be to do them a disservice.
Between money-stuffed pies and sham parking tickets, some of the PR stunts they’ve pulled in Manchester have been some of the most inventive and peculiar in recent memory.
Led by Managing Director Gareth Peterson, Caroo has packed pastries with £50 notes, distributed fake penalty notes to Manc drivers, and even given away branded condoms.
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Gareth himself even scaled a cherry-picker and held signs up to office windows that read: ‘Fed up of working here? Search Caroo.’
He also drove an ad van around the city that had ‘Download our app for a BJ* – *better job’ plastered to the side.
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So, why the weirdness?
Simple.
Caroo wants to align a disruptive product with disruptive marketing campaigns.
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As a technology business aiming to transform the hiring experience, Caroo is completely reimagining recruitment; offering features that make the process less painful than ever.
The brand has built a recruitment experience that people actually want – using feedback from companies and applicants to steer development.
Features include full anonymity for candidate profiles (meaning your current boss and colleagues can’t snoop on your hunt for a new role) and a newsfeed platform that enables employers to create bespoke content and target it only to relevant professionals.
Caroo has proven a big hit with big brands, too – striking partnerships with Co-Op, Missguided, On the Beach, Gymshark and Adidas.
Caroo MD Gareth and his team have been plotting their next eye-popping stunt as we speak, which remains top secret but is expected to land mid-September.
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“We believe a disruptive start-up needs a disruptive approach to marketing – so I’m more than happy to lead the charge and embarrass myself,” says Gareth.
“Employers have been getting a raw deal for way too long when it comes to hiring talent – so we created Caroo.
“We understood all the bug bears employers and candidates face during the recruitment process, and built a platform that makes that process much smoother.”
Learn more about the ways in which Caroo have been causing chaos by visiting their website.
You can also discover more by downloading the app here.
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Manchester has been named one of the most ‘affordable’ cities in the UK – this is why
Emily Sergeant
A list of the top 10 most affordable cities in the UK has been revealed, and Manchester has made the cut for one very specific reason.
On a bit of a budget? Aren’t we all.
The cost of living crisis has been raging on for quite a few years now, and unfortunately, despite how much we all wish for it to, it doesn’t appear to be slowing down – with prices for everyday items, especially typical fridge and cupboard stables, shooting up by the day, even though supermarkets are showing efforts to prevent it.
And it’s the noticeable price increases in groceries that led delivery insurance provider, Street Cover, to uncover which UK cities don’t strain your food shopping budgets too much just yet.
As it was found that food and non-alcoholic drinks inflation reached 1.3% this past summer, a new study has revealed that Sheffield is officially the most affordable city in the UK, with several other northern locations on the list.
Manchester has been named one of the most ‘affordable’ cities in the UK / Credit: MCC | Aldi
The study compared the 2026 Grocery Index for the largest UK cities with the UK average, as well as available 2025 Grocery Indices, to track the changes in food affordability.
The cities are ranked by the index difference from the national average – which is 67.3 – but the report also uses direct monetary values for a grocery basket to provide some additional context too.
Manchester took sixth place on the list, with an average grocery basket price of £23.08, while some of the other northern cities in the top 10, besides Sheffield at number one, include Liverpool, Leeds, and Newcastle.
Top 10 Most Affordable UK Cities For Groceries
Sheffield
Milton Keynes
Liverpool
Reading
Newcastle
Manchester
Leeds
Bristol
Cardiff
Southampton
As the only other North West city in the top 10, Liverpool may have come in third place overall, but the study found that the grocery bill here is the smallest in terms of actual monetary numbers – with it setting shoppers back £22.08 for a regular supermarket basket, which is a whole £1 cheaper than in Manchester.
“Data shows households in the North East of England have the lowest average food spend in the country, around 11% below the UK average, while Yorkshire sits 6.6% below,” Al Taylor, who is the Head of Street Cover, commented on the study’s findings.
“Sheffield’s position at the top reflects lower property costs for retailers, less competition from premium chains, and a supermarket landscape dominated by value-led options.
“The practical implication for household budgets is significant – the difference between budget and premium shopping can easily be £1,000 or more per year for a family, which can be spent on other things or saved for future plans.”
Featured Image – Aldi
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Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’
Emily Sergeant
Call yourself a clever clogs? The BBC is currently looking for contestants to take part in what is widely considered the hardest quiz show on TV.
That’s right – Only Connect is back for another series on BBC Two.
Presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell and first broadcast all the way back in 2008, Only Connect takes TV quizzing to the next level, as it sees two teams compete against each other by finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues.
In this quiz show – which viewers have dubbed one of the most challenging there is – knowledge only takes you so far, as the ability to think laterally is also deemed ‘vitally important’.
A casting call for the upcoming 2027 series has been shared on the BBC website, with people from Greater Manchester encouraged to apply.
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’ / Credit: BBC
The casting call reads: “The popular BBC Two quiz show presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell returns for a new series in 2027.
“Only Connect is seeking teams of three players OR single applicants or teams of two looking for like-minded teammates to pool their combined wits to solve fiendish conundrums and vexing puzzles.
“This is the quiz series where, as in life itself, knowledge will only take you so far: patience and lateral thinking are also vital. It’s all about making connections between things which may appear, at first glance, not to be connected at all.”
Reckon you’ve got what it takes then? Applications are now open, and all applicants must be aged 18 or over and a resident in the UK or Channel Islands.
The Manc -
30th August 2020 
